I am a mom to two great kids. DS21 and DD17 as well as 2 dogs - Belle 4yo and Rani 3yo keep me busy. I also babysit for my sister and she has 2 great kids that are 10yo and 4yo, they are so much fun. But as you can see my house a zoo. I will be documenting my life over the next year for a number of reasons but mostly for fun.

Background

Monday, May 12, 2014

Friday was even better. I was able to make it to the C25K group run. We ran part of the actual course for the upcoming Ferguson Twilight 5K. There is a big hill that I have been dreading but I have a number of big hills on my home based course so I knew I could conquer it. Once again the Galloway method came through for me. Not only did I get up the hill. I passed 3 runners and recorded a new PR of 11:44 min/mile split. I felt strong and was able to finish with no problem.
Sunday on the other hand was a different story. It was hot 86 degrees, humid, and just all round not a great day. I was so tired I even took 2 naps throughout the day, this is very unusual for me. My feet and legs are sun burnt from Florica's soccer game yesterday. My hip and shins were hurting. Although I enjoyed having the kids over for Mother's day I was just not in the mood to cook and apparently no one else wanted to either even though they all wanted to eat. I ended up eating left over pizza before trying to run, probably should have waited until after the run. I knew I was running slow but I was ok with that and my shins loosened up nicely within half a mile. However, when I reached what should have been the 1 mile mark I noticed that my mapmyrun app was on pause, argh. Everything was starting to hurt (my shoulder, breasts, hip, and back) were all saying enough I was so hot I am sure my face was red as a beat. I decided then that I needed to cut my course short and turn it into a brisk comfortable walk.
Florica has a number of games this week making it difficult for me to meet up with the group until Wednesday. The weather is changing which I am hoping is why my hip hurts. I just started "running" in March and have found the experience invigorating. I look forward to each run and miss it on my off days. Yesterday was a big disappointment for me. I am hoping I feel better tonight so that I can get a run on the treadmill. Next week will be the next step in my running endeavor as I start training with Big River Summer Speedwork in preparation for my Firecracker 10K on July 4th.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Florica has had a soccer tournament this week making it difficult for me to run with my C25K group. I am supposed to run 2.75 miles on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday I was able to run before her game. On Monday I covered 2.78 miles at a split pace of 12:29 min/mile and on Wednesday 2.94 miles at 11:55 min/mile. Both were new PR for me. I tried to get in as many hills as possible in prep for the Ferguson Twilight 5K. Hopefully, I will be able to make the group run on Friday as there are only 3 runs left before our race. I really like the Galloway method of run/walk and am currently pursuing some other running groups to prepare for the Cowbell Half Marathon in October.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Wow it has been almost 2 years since I have even thought about this blog. So much has happened I am not sure where to start. I finally finished my degree as of May 2013 I am a SLU graduate with a BA in General Studies. I thought about taking off a year or two but then panic set in and I signed up for my Master's in Developmental Organization. Ugh, after 2 classes I realized this is not for me. I was lucky enough to realize early that I needed to look into something else. I enjoy my career in Healthcare and realized the options in the Allied Health Department would be a better fit. I was able to switch in January and am starting to work on my Master of Health Informatics. Two classes down.
Brad has been out of the house for almost 3 years now, you cannot believe how proud I am of him and how well he has done in life. He now has a new roommate.

She is a real sweetie once you get to know her. She was abused as a puppy so she understandably has some people issues.

Florica is a senior in high school. We have been busy trying to plan her future... as of right now she will start vocational rehab next year working in a retirement home with the Special School District. Florica knew softball was not her sport and after spending the summer playing tennis with Special Olympics she joined the Ritenour Tennis Team this year. In the spring, she has once again made the Ritenour soccer team on the varsity level. Practice and games as well as Special Olympics basketball, bowling, tennis, volleyball, and softball have kept her busy.

Doug bought the remaining assets of King's Automotive and opened his own business: A-King Automotive, LLC. We have had some ups and downs but it seems to be on the right track now and building into a success.

I on the other hand had a health scare when I was diagnosed in Aug 2013 with diabetes. I went through all the stages of denial, grief, anger, and acceptance. I refused to allow a disease take over my life and made the decision to take control. This brings me to my current obsession with running. I have been jealous for some time now of my friends and family when they post pictures and results of 5K's, mudders, and color runs. I wish I could run but there is no way. Even when I was at my healthiest I could not run. Anyway I did everything the doctor asked of me. Meet with the pharmacist to discuss when and how to track my sugar and taking my medication correctly. The dietitian looked at my log and gave me a few pointers but could find no big problems with my diet. I bought a fitbit and determined my biggest problem had to be lack of exercise. I started to force myself to walk on my breaks everyday, with or without my walking partner. But I still longed for a better plan, I could not afford a gym membership but we had a new treadmill at home we had bought a couple of years ago. My first time trying to run on it I could not even run through a 30 second commercial, boy did I have my work cut out for me. Every time I saw a posting about a 5K run I would dream that some day I could participate. Then it happened..... I found out they have a 5K run on Castaway Cay and at Disney World. How did I not know about this sooner. Well I had a new goal, we are going to be on Castaway Cay in November and it can be walked, I knew I could walk about a 15 min/mile. Then I found a program called C25K. I downloaded the app and started to run. When I started to search for a local 5K as a prep I found the Ferguson Twilight 5K run/walk. Once again "walk" popped out at me. Hey I know I can walk a 5K. Then I found a C25K free running group in Ferguson, ok the word "free" got my attention and my competitive nature took over. I joined the group and we are now on Week 7. The only problem is I still cannot run for long without wearing down. That's when I started to look seriously at runDisney trainer Jeff Galloway's run/walk method. The idea is that walk breaks help keep your legs fresh so you remain strong all the way to the end. This week our C25K instructions are to run 2.25 miles....um I cannot run that long without a break so I decided to try the run/walk method with a 30:30 interval. I cut my average mile/min time by .84 seconds. I felt strong and was able to finish. My training continues and my first 5K is set for May 17, 2014. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up and complete a few more runs including some Disney 1/2 marathons in 2015. Not to mention I am having fun coming up with ideas for running costumes.